


a little romeo, a little juliet

by fraybanes



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: (sort of not really but also yeah but also hmmm), Alternate Universe - College/University, Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Friendship, Group Hangs, Implied Sexual Content, Motorcycles, Parties, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2019-12-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22027657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fraybanes/pseuds/fraybanes
Summary: Clary doesn't acknowledge her crush on the dean's daughter and Aline doesn't socialize with Jonathan Morgenstern's little sister. Things are simple.
Relationships: Clary Fray/Aline Penhallow, Isabelle Lightwood/Maia Roberts (Background), Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, all the friendships!
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23
Collections: shadowhunters sapphic ficathon





	a little romeo, a little juliet

**Author's Note:**

> written for the Shadowhunters Sapphic Ficathon again, this time for the prompts "I broke my rules for you" and "no regrets"
> 
> disclaimer: I know nothing about colleges and movie theaters in the U.S. or motorbikes in general. also! though I've hinted at Magnus being non-binary in other fics (or, like, one published fic...), this is technically my first time writing a non-binary character in a fic and since I'm not non-binary myself, any feedback in that area is welcome and appreciated.
> 
> possible warnings for this one: just lots of mentions of food and alcohol, really. and ~suggestive themes~ I guess

“I don’t like that girl.”

Clary looks up from her sketchbook at Jonathan’s bitter remark, not because she particularly cares who he does and doesn’t like, but because Jonathan only uses that tone about girls who are too hot, too confident, and too rude to give him the time of day.

Just Clary’s type.

In this particular instant, it appears he’s talking about Aline Penhallow. Aline is strolling down the sidewalk towards the athletics center, laughing loudly and shoving Jace Lightwood playfully, but hard enough that he almost drops his gym bag.

“You never did like jocks,” Clary says, watching Aline’s form get smaller and smaller the farther away she gets from them. Even at this distance, she’s gorgeous.

“I don’t dislike her because she’s a _jock_ , Clary,” Jonathan says. “I dislike her because she kicked me in the crotch that one time.”

Clary rolls her eyes. “That was a whole semester ago. And you deserved it.”

Even Jonathan can’t argue with that. Clary goes back to sketching.

That night, Clary sits cross-legged on the kitchen counter in Simon’s dorm room where Simon, Maia and Bat are playing video games while Magnus tries to get Clary to pay attention to her assignment.

“Your tenses are all over the place,” Magnus is saying. “And you keep leaving out prepositions and conjunctions. You really need to type more carefully.”

“I’m gonna fail,” is Clary’s response.

“God, you’re depressing. All I’m saying is you need to proofread.” Magnus pushes her rough draft towards her over the counter. “The paper’s good, though. I mean, I’m guessing it’s good. I’m not an expert in art history.”

“The paper’s good,” Clary assures them.

“So why isn’t your mood?”

Clary doesn’t know how to tell them — or any of her friends — that she has a crush on the Dean’s daughter, who hates her and her entire family. So she says nothing. Seeing her reluctance to share, Magnus decides to change the subject, because they're an angel and an expert at avoiding awkward situations.

“So!” they turn to address the entire room. “You guys are going to Isabelle’s party, right?”

“Nope,” Simon says.

“Probably not,” Maia says.

“Who’s Isabelle?” Bat asks.

“Magnus’ rich boyfriend’s sister,” Clary reminds him. “And no, Magnus, we’re not going. Because we’re not invited.”

“ _I’m_ invited,” Maia says.

“Are you going?”

Maia shrugs. “Haven’t decided yet. I’m probably gonna be busy, but if Magnus wants me to go…”

“You guys have to come!” Magnus cries. “All of you! Come on, Isabelle throws great parties, it’ll be fun.”

“Uh-huh,” Maia glances away from the TV screen long enough to raise an eyebrow at them with a knowing look in her eyes. “And this has nothing to do with you wanting us to play nice with your boyfriend?”

Magnus glares at her. “He hardly counts as a _boyfriend_. We’ve only been on a few dates. And this has nothing to do with him.”

“Aww,” Bat says, grinning. “They're blushing! That’s kinda sweet, actually. Guys, I think we should go.”

“I hate you,” Magnus says. “But you’re right: everyone _should_ go to the party.”

“We’re not invited,” Clary reminds them, then quickly adds, “Except you and Maia, because you two misunderstood what we meant by ‘fuck the bourgeoisie’.”

Magnus crumples up a blank piece of paper from Clary’s notes and throws it at her. She dodges easily, but it’s the thought that counts.

As an unexpected reminder that they were captain of the debate team in their high school, Magnus does eventually convince them all to go to their rich boyfriend’s sister’s party. Although, at this point, it’s more of an instinctive response to whine and argue but ultimately do what they want. None of them are ever kidding when they say Magnus is the mother hen of the group.

So to the party at the off-campus Lightwood mansion they go, where they are greeted warmly by a very tipsy Isabelle Lightwood.

“Call me Izzy!” she insists, yelling to be heard over the blaring music. “It’s so good to meet you guys! You’re even prettier in person!” At that point, she ignores Simon and Bat completely and begins showering Clary and Maia with compliments, asking them where they got their skirts and telling them how great their makeup looks and whatnot. Her brother Jace ignores not only Bat and Simon, but Clary as well, and offers to make Maia whatever drink she wants as he asks her about what program she’s in.

Alec is polite, far more sober than both his siblings (and most of their guests), and, despite Magnus’ nervousness, doesn’t seem to love or hate their friend group either way. He tells them to make themselves at home and come find him if they need anything.

Soon, Clary finds herself sitting on a very expensive couch with an unopened bottle of beer in her hand, listening to a techno remix of a song that she thinks was fine by itself, actually.

She looks around for her friends. By the pool table, she sees both Jace and Izzy Lightwood trying to flirt with Maia. Clary sees the gears turning in her head as she plans how to absolutely demolish them both at the game while they’re busy trying to get into her pants. In another corner, Magnus is laughing very enthusiastically about something with Alec Lightwood leaning very close to them. Clary gives the two about five more minutes before they go off somewhere and forget the party and all its guests even exist. Simon is loudly cheering Bat on at the beer pong table. Bat looks like he’s losing.

The couch suddenly jolts and a laughing someone stumbles and falls onto it—

—and right into Clary’s lap.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Aline Penhallow exclaims, still giggling drunkenly at something, and sits up, her jean short-clad legs still over Clary’s own mostly-bare thighs. She looks up at Clary and stops laughing. “Hey, I know you,” she says; Clary’s heart stops for a moment.

“Your brother’s an asshole.”

Clary blinks, taken aback, the illusion shattering and her crush fading into the background again. “So’s your mom. What does that have to do with me?”

The response is automatic. She doesn’t really care that Aline thinks Jonathan is an asshole. A lot of people think Jonathan is an asshole. Hell, _Clary_ thinks Jonathan is an asshole. But some protective sibling instinct — or defense mechanism, or _whatever_ — has made her want to defend him. By insulting the Dean, apparently.

Aline shakes her head and climbs off the couch. Clary tries very hard not to stare at the muscles in her arms or her ass in those shorts as she walks away.

Maia slams her breakfast tray down on the table at the on-campus McDonald’s with far too much force to agree with Clary, Simon or Bat’s hangovers. She shoves Jonathan to the side so she can sit next to Clary. He grumbles but doesn’t resist. “Guess who got laid last night!” Maia says with a mischievous smile.

Clary chokes on an Egg McMuffin. “Oh my god!”

“With _who_?” Bat exclaims into his coffee. “I mean— which sibling?”

Simon’s hangover seems to have vanished completely as he just gapes at Maia.

“Not me!” Maia cries. “Magnus!”

Everyone turns their gaze on Magnus, who hides their face behind their breakfast burrito.

Jonathan is the first to speak: “Fucking _finally_ ,” he scoffs. “You guys have been going out for, what, a month already?”

“No, you don’t get it,” Bat, smiling wide at Magnus, gestures for Jonathan to shut up from across the table. “Magnus _loves_ this guy.”

Magnus drops their burrito and Clary can see that they're starting to go red. “I did _not_ say that—”

“Oh, please, why else would it have taken you over a month to sleep with him?”

Magnus takes a deep breath, slowly cleans their face with a napkin, and turns a murderous smile on Maia. “How the fuck did you know?”

“I’m in a group chat with Jace and Izzy now,” Maia says with a wink. “I know _everything_.”

“Hmm,” Magnus turns back to their breakfast. “I’m going to kill Jace.”

As Bat and Maia bombard them with questions (some about how exactly they’re going to kill Jace, but mostly about Alec), Clary’s gaze is drawn by someone walking up to their table. Someone with a high ponytail, wearing a leather jacket and combat boots.

Aline Penhallow, to be specific.

She stops at the end of their table and all conversation ceases. Her eyes are on Clary.

“Hey,” she says. “Clary, right?”

Clary shakes herself out of her stupor to shrug as nonchalantly as she can manage and say, “Yeah. Aline, right?”

Aline huffs out a short laugh. “Cute. So, listen, some of us were going to see a movie on Friday night. Wanna come?”

Clary wonders if she is having a stroke. Then, she wonders if Aline is having a stroke. But what’s more likely is that Aline is fucking with her. She quickly looks to the table for advice: _Should I play along? Should I take the bait? Should I take her seriously?_

They all gaze unhelpfully back at her and Aline. The only people giving her any remote indication of what to do are Bat, who nods slightly when their eyes lock, and Jonathan, who looks ten seconds away from committing a federal crime. Clary rolls her eyes at him and turns back to Aline.

“Okay.”

For a second, almost too quick to catch, Aline’s cool, unbothered demeanor changes. Her eyes widen a fraction. Her jaw untenses. Her lips threaten to stretch into a smile.

Then it’s all gone and she smirks instead. “Cool,” she says. “I’ll pick you up at 6.”

“Friday,” Clary confirms. “Can’t wait.”

Aline gives her a curt nod and walks away, her easy stride not faltering until she’s slumping back down in her booth across from Isabelle and next to Alec. Clary turns back to the table.

“Did the Dean’s daughter just ask me out?”

“Yes,” Jonathan says through gritted teeth.

“And did I just say yes?”

“Big time,” Maia says, her eyes elsewhere. Probably, Clary concludes, the same place Magnus’ are: glued to one of the Lightwood siblings Aline just led them to.

The next question on Clary’s mind is, “Was it a mistake?”, but she doesn’t voice that one.

Come Friday night, everyone (except for Jonathan, ever the grump) is gathered in Magnus and Clary’s room to stress her out before she’s even gone on the damn date — if it can even be called a date. Including Catarina, who’s apparently okay with spending her twenty minute Skype call with Magnus from France reminding them all how much the Penhallows and the Morgensterns allegedly hate each other.

“I think it’s cute,” Maia says. “Your parents hated each other in college and now you two are dating? Pretty _Romeo and Juliet_ , isn’t it?”

“Romeo and Juliet _died_ , Maia!” Simon butts in, trying very hard to not bite his nails in his nervousness.

“You know I’m minoring in English lit, right?”

Magnus snatches the lipstick Clary’s about to put on out of her hand and replaces it with another, lighter colour. “Wherefore art thou, _Penhallow_?” they say teasingly.

“This is ridiculous!” Clary cries. Not about the lipstick — that was a good call on Magnus’ part. “This isn’t a Shakespearan tragedy. It’s just me going on one date, or group hang, or whatever, with a really hot, really mean girl. Can we talk about something else?”

“Aline’s not mean,” Maia says. “I met her at the party. She has no filter, but she was super fun.”

“Yeah, she’s actually a lovely girl from what I’ve seen,” Magnus agrees. “A little brash at times, sure, but who isn’t?”

“Well, every time _I’ve_ spoken to her, we’ve argued,” Clary says, feeling suddenly defensive.

“Then she probably thinks you’re pretty mean, too,” Bat says.

Before Clary can come up with a retort or an argument or a dignified way to say “Oh, shit, you’re probably right, I never thought about it that way,” there is a knock on the door. Everyone freezes for a moment, then begins to scramble to get their bearings and whisper-shout “She’s here! Don’t freak out!” at each other. Maia motions for them all to be quiet before shoving Clary’s purse into her hands and pushing her towards the door.

“Hey,” Aline says when Clary opens the door to greet her.

“Hey,” Clary says. “You look great.” Actually, she looks the same as she always does. Which _is_ great. But somehow she also looks better than usual, which, previously, Clary had thought was an impossibility.

“So do you,” Aline says, very deliberately and very politely _not_ looking at Clary's cleavage. “Ready to go?”

One thing Clary did not know about Aline Penhallow was the fact that she rides a motorcycle.

If Clary had known that Aline rode a motorcycle, she would not have worn a dress tonight.

But she did not know that Aline rode a motorcycle, and so she wore a dress, and so now Aline is trying her best to hold back a laugh as Clary tries to mount the bike behind her in heels and the tiniest, tightest dress she owns.

“I can go upstairs and change,” Clary huffs at last.

“Don’t you dare,” Aline says, a little too quickly. She hands Clary a helmet. “Here. Just put this on and hang on. I’ll let you get off first and make yourself decent when we get there.”

“How kind of you,” Clary says flatly. But she does as Aline asked, putting on the helmet and grabbing Aline around the waist. She might be imagining it, but she’s pretty sure Aline tenses for a moment before relaxing and putting on her own helmet. She starts the engine and they set off.

By the time they get to the movie theater, Clary is starting to wonder if she should get herself a motorcycle. Her outfit situation is less than ideal, and she’s acutely aware of Aline’s body pressed against hers, which makes it hard to focus, but there is something to be said for the rush of the wind and the blurring of the city lights as they zoom through the streets until finally coming to a smooth stop in the mostly-empty parking lot.

As promised, Aline gives her a moment to stand up and make sure her skirt wasn’t riding too high up before taking off her own helmet and leading Clary inside.

Alec Lightwood, Raj from chemistry, and a blonde girl Clary doesn’t recognize are waiting for them inside. They greet her as if her presence beside Aline is not the strangest thing in the world and Alec goes off to get their tickets.

“What are we watching?” Clary asks Aline, suddenly realizing she hasn’t bothered to ask before.

Aline just shrugs in answer before gesturing at the concession stand. “No idea. Let’s get some snacks. Do you like popcorn? The slushies here are really good, too.”

“Uh, yeah, sounds great,” Clary says, and they walk to stand in line together. Raj and the blonde girl trail behind them, deep in conversation about a psych paper. Clary reaches into her purse.

“Two large popcorns and two large slushies,” Aline says to the cashier. She nudges Clary’s shoulder with hers to grab her attention. “Put that away.”

It takes Clary a moment to realize Aline is referring to her purse. More specifically, her wallet. More specifically, Aline is paying for her snacks.

Clary quickly goes through the possibilities in her head in the next few seconds: is Aline paying for _everyone_ ? No — Raj and the blonde both have their wallets out and Raj is now yelling to Alec across the floor about whether he wants to share nachos since “Helen”, who Clary figures must be their blonde companion, doesn’t like nachos. And she said “put that away” more like an order than a request made out of courtesy and politeness. So this _is_ a date, then. Even with the rest of Aline’s crew (save for Izzy and Jace) here and Aline not having uttered the actual word yet. Well, at least now Clary feels a little less silly about her outfit.

But the most important question remains: is Clary just gonna let this girl, gorgeous as she is, boss her around?

The cashier gives them their total. Clary sets her jaw and slams her credit card down on the counter before Aline has a chance to do the same. She turns to see Aline look taken aback, then simply amused. Aline smirks and picks up their popcorn, waiting patiently as Clary quickly shoves her card and receipt into her purse and follows with one drink in each hand. They meet up with Alec and wait for Raj and Helen to join them with their own snacks before walking to the auditorium together.

Clary is surprised to find that they’re watching a romantic comedy. Even more so when she sees how excited Aline is getting about it. It’s a toothy grin, a sparkle in the eyes. Another one of those moments where the permanent smirk and expressive eyebrows give way to a moment of genuine, almost vulnerable emotion before taking back their rightful place on Aline’s perfect face.

“I’ve never heard of this movie,” Clary confesses after they’ve taken their seats and are waiting for the trailers to start.

“It’s good,” Aline says, taking a handful of Clary’s popcorn and shoving it into her mouth as if she doesn’t have a full bucket of exactly the same thing in her own lap. “Or so I’ve heard. It’s supposed to be really funny, anyway.”

Then she gets distracted by Alec elbowing her and asking if she remembered to take napkins because Helen wanted to try some nachos and accidentally spilled cheese on her skirt. Clary watches them bicker and can’t help but smile at how much they remind her of her own friend group.

The movie starts soon after and they fall silent. It’s a cute enough movie, but Clary finds it hard to focus after she realizes she recognizes a supporting actor but can’t _quite_ place him…

Aline leans over, her face almost touching Clary's due to their proximity. “Was that guy on Disney channel?” she whispers.

“I have no clue,” Clary replies just as quietly. “He looks _so_ familiar.”

“Right?!” Aline turns to her, and before Clary can think better of it, she turns too. Big mistake. Their faces are, in fact, _very_ close — they had to be for them to be able to converse without disturbing anyone — and now Clary is staring into Aline’s dark eyes, unable to look away, painfully aware of how close the tips of their noses and their lips are to touching.

(Also, she's pretty sure from this angle, she could see down Aline's shirt and vice versa. Not that either of them seem eager to break their intense, paralyzing eye contact.)

After a moment of staring, unmoving, and feeling her heart hammer away in her chest, her crush fully in the foreground now, Clary begins to relax when Aline smiles and turns back to the screen. Instead of moving away, though, Aline rests her head on Clary's shoulder.

Okay, yeah, this is definitely a date.

Clary tilts her head so it’s resting on top of Aline’s. Aline picks up another few pieces of popcorn and raises them to Clary’s lips. Clary takes them between her teeth and wonders why they didn’t just get one popcorn to share.

“He played the villain in that shitty superhero movie!” Helen announces triumphantly as they walk out of the theater about an hour later.

“Who?” Raj asks.

“The best friend,” Helen says. “He was wearing a wig as the villain. That’s why I didn’t recognize him.”

“Oh my god, you’re right,” Aline says, realization dawning. “God, I’ve been trying to figure it out for like two hours!” She looks over at the actor’s IMDB page on Helen's phone.

Alec checks his watch. “Hey, I gotta get going,” he says, and then to Helen, “You need a ride?”

“Sure, thanks. And thanks again for the tickets.”

“Oh, yeah,” Clary says. “How much do I owe you, by the way?”

Alec shakes his head, making a dismissive gesture with his hand. “My dad owns the place,” he says. “I don’t have to pay, neither do you guys.”

“Oh, thanks.”

“Uh-huh, our boy Alec’s the generous type,” Raj throws an arm around Alec's neck and winks at Clary. “Just make sure to mention that to your cute friend.”

Unamused, and yet blushing, Alec brushes Raj’s arm off of him. He and Helen leave soon after. Raj and Aline hug goodbye and Aline puts a hand on the small of Clary’s back to lead her back out to the parking lot.

The ride back is somehow both more comfortable and more tense than the ride to the movies. Clary’s used to the way the bike moves by now, and she can now enjoy the added bonus of how much more beautiful the city looks at night, with the lights and colours zooming past them. On the other hand, it’s even harder to ignore Aline’s body pressed against hers this time around. Sitting with their heads on each other's shoulder at the movies was one thing. Aline's shirt flapping around in the wind until Clary's touching her bare stomach ( _abs_ — Clary is touching _her_ _abs_ ) is something else entirely.

Clary almost wants to laugh. She’s gone from trying her damnedest to ignore her crush on this girl, to insulting her mother, to cuddling with her in the back of a movie theater and thinking some _embarrassingly_ thirsty thoughts about her in a matter of days. In fact, as strange and unofficial as that date was, Clary doesn't trust herself not to invite Aline upstairs or start pulling her clothes off the second they arrive.

She _has_ been pining for a long time, after all.

Aline brings the bike to a stop in front of Clary’s building and waits for Clary to get off and straighten out her dress again. Then, as if to indicate that she will gladly stay if Clary asks, she gets up, kicks down the stand, and takes off her helmet before resting it on the seat. Clary is thankful that she doesn’t shake her hair out with slightly-parted lips or anything, because Clary probably wouldn’t be able to handle that. She takes off her own helmet and holds it out towards Aline.

Aline bites her lip. “Hang on to that,” she says. “For next time.”

“Next time?” Clary blurts, a little more teasingly than she meant to, but she can’t really bring herself to regret it. Especially when Aline looks away and self-consciously brushes her hair back, licking her lips.

“Well, you know…if you wanna go out with us again…or just with me…”

“Okay,” Clary says.

It’s starting to look like that word is Aline Penhallow’s Achilles heel. She struggles to keep the smile off her face for a moment before giving in. She shakes her head, gives a small laugh in the direction of the stars, and looks back at Clary with them reflected in her eyes. “You know,” she says, “I thought I’d die before I let myself go out with a Morgenstern.”

Clary rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling too. “Broke your big rule for me, huh?” she chuckles. “I broke my rules for you, too.”

Aline arches an eyebrow. “ _Rules_ , plural?”

“Mhm,” Clary tucks the helmet under one arm and steps closer to Aline. “Never dating a Penhallow, never getting dressed up for a Penhallow, never buying overpriced movie theater snacks for a Penhallow…never kissing a Penhallow…”

Aline laughs. “You have _that_ many different rules against—”

Clary shuts her up with a kiss.

Aline nearly falls over herself in her first, surprise, and then, eagerness to kiss Clary back. She pulls Clary close by the hips, then cups her face, gently stroking Clary’s jaw and cheek with one thumb as she deepens the kiss, nudging Clary’s lips apart with her own. Overcome with the need to be doing something with her hands too, Clary forgets the helmet’s existence and lets it fall from grip. She slides her hands across Aline’s waist and into the back pockets of her jeans.

They certainly _have_ come a long way.

When they finally pull away, Clary’s lipstick smudged all over Aline’s mouth, her hair a mess, and both of them out of breath, Aline laughs lightly and rests her forehead against Clary’s.

“God,” she breathes out. “I am so glad I tripped and fell on you at Izzy’s party.”

“Me too,” Clary murmurs.

Aline laughs again before straightening up. She picks up the fallen helmet and hands it back to Clary. Clary takes it, her fingers brushing over Aline’s for perhaps a few seconds longer than is necessary.

“Give me your phone,” Aline says.

Clary doesn’t hesitate to unlock her phone and hand it over. Aline types something on it, then pulls Clary close with an arm around her shoulders and takes a selfie of them together. She admires it for a second and gives Clary’s phone, which now includes her contact information, back.

“Call me,” she says.

“I intend to,” Clary says.

“Good.” Aline gives her one last smirk before putting her helmet back on and riding off.

Clary steps inside and takes a moment to check herself out in her phone’s camera before going up to her room. And boy does she look a mess. But the good kind, with flushed cheeks and a happy glint in her eyes. She opens the photos app. What she just saw in the front-facing camera is reflected there, both on her own face and on Aline’s.

Well, the evidence is there for all to see: she’s going out with Aline — the Dean’s daughter, the bane of her brother's existence, one of the few people she has ever butted heads with — defying the odds to start their own little star-crossed romance.

They do look great together.


End file.
